Poker Face creator Rian Johnson explains exactly why the series’ deadliest plot ended so early into Season 2.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson was asked why the series’ second season resolved its Season 1 cliffhanger storyline, which involved Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie being on the run from a mob boss, only three episodes in. «It was something that came about in the writers room, and it came really naturally,» Johnson replied. «I’m always trying to make sure in the writers room that we’re focused on the episodic nature of the show, and it’s fun to think of what the journey is over the course of the season.»
«But the thing that really makes the show work is this idea that you can watch any episode and it’ll be a complete meal and you don’t really need the context around it to enjoy it, which is how I grew up experiencing TV as a kid,» Johnson continued. «I miss that form of storytelling. So it’s about focusing on that and also not wanting to have the show be a pattern where every season a different mob boss chasing her until the finale boss-Charlie confrontation, and wanting to break it up for the audience so that it feels like anything can actually happen in this show.»
Poker Face Premiered in 2023
Poker Face premiered on Peacock in 2023 to near-unanimously positive reviews from critics. The series stars Natasha Lyonne as Charie Cale, a cocktail waitress at a casino who is capable of telling when a person is lying with unnerving accuracy. When she is thrust into the middle of a deadly coverup, Charlie is forced to run for her life, traveling across the country and finding herself solving subsequent crimes along the way. Poker Face‘s three-episode Season 2 premiere hit Peacock on May 8, again drawing widespread critical acclaim.
Poker Face Season 2 introduced a whole host of new characters, the majority of whom so far have been portrayed by Cynthia Erivo, who plays five separate characters in the hit series. Regarding the experience of portraying numerous characters in the same scene, Erivo said that she «knew that my head would be slit into many different spaces.» Erivo went on to explain that the unique set of parts were just another challenge for her as a performer, and that she wanted to «figure out what it would be like to compartmentalize and play different characters all at once.»
Poker Face is currently available for streaming on Peacock.
